Castlerigg Stone Circle and Unofficial Couchsurfing

Had there been a different focus to my trip I may have spent a considerable amount of time in Cumbria and the Lake District. This area is supposed to be contain of the most beautiful places and best hikes in Britain, but it was  light on castles and cathedrals, so I mostly skipped over it. Also, it rained almost the whole time I was there. Thankfully, the weather was clear when I stopped by the main sight I intended to visit in the area: Castlerigg Stone Circle. I walked up hill out of the town of Keswick to the stone circle, which is between 3000 and 4000 years old.

What's that? You say I would have to have been standing atop the stones in order to take the next two pictures? No, that would be disrespectful. I definitely would never do that...

I only saw one other person during the time I stood in the circle. The clear air and mountain surroundings made it feel mystical. 

As the sky started to darken, I headed out to the town of Ambleside. The town is supposed to be a great base for hiking, but I mostly went there to make some progress southward so that I didn't have to take the bus during precious daylight hours. It was raining when I arrived, so I immediately trudged out to the youth hostel. Unfortunately, it was under renovation and hence closed. I headed out to the other hostel in town, but found that this independent backpacking hostel was serious about the sign out front saying that they would not check anyone in after 8 pm. I arrived at 8:15 and no one would so much as answer the door. All other lodging in the town was quite expensive.

I treated myself to a nice dinner at Zeffirelli's Italian restaurant, figuring that if I wasn't able to have a nice place to sleep I should at least eat well. Over dinner a couple about my age was sitting next to me commented on my reading the Lonely Planet (which I was using to desperately figure out if there was somewhere I could go to sleep out of the rain fairly cheaply) and struck up a conversation about the book. They commented that LP India had been their bible when they traveled there, and wondered what the Britain version had to say about their hometown. I got the sense that they were travelers after my own heart, or at least fairly close.  After working up the courage to do so, I told them the hostel situation and asked them if I could give them twenty quid to crash on their floor or couch. They said I could stay for free. When we went to their home on the floor above the family business, her parents commented that they had brought home a stray, which is pretty damned accurate. I hung out with them for a couple hours and enjoyed conversations about a wide range of topics before crashing on their couch.